IRAN

Iranian authorities, together with four local banks and Ghoghnoos, have launched the PayMon cryptocurrency backed by gold reserves, aiming to bypass international sanctions. No other country has ever used gold reserves to back a cryptocurrency. PayMon is expected to be presented on the Iranian Fara Bourse OTC securities market.

A conference in Warsaw this week was billed as reinstating the US’ lead role in diplomacy for the Mideast. The absence of Russia and other European leaders only served to expose the ill-conceived summit and Washington’s isolation.
When the forum was initially planned last year by the Trump administration, the purpose was to bring Washington back in from the diplomatic cold which it had opted for by abandoning the international nuclear accord with Iran.

Trump’s tearing up of the Iran deal in May 2018 had isolated the US from other signatories: Russia, China and the Europeans. By holding a high-level conference on Iran, the idea was to burnish Washington’s diplomatic standing in the Middle East.

The trouble was that from the outset most would-be participants saw the real agenda of the meeting as an attempt by Washington to drum up international support for further antagonizing Iran with economic sanctions.

In Warsaw on Thursday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that peace and stability could not be achieved in the Middle East without confronting Iran.

The comments came during meetings at a US-backed conference in Warsaw designed to further Middle East security. Israel, the US and foreign ministers from some 60 countries gathered in the Polish capital, but much of the focus has been on Iran. The ministerial meeting gathered together leading opponents of Tehran’s role in the Middle East, including Israel, Arab countries and the US administration.

If there is one consistent fact about Israeli military policy, it is that they are always at least sort of at war with Iran. The Syrian War, and Iran’s advisory role there has made this fairly simple, as Israel just bombs Damascus a few times a month, insisting they’re hitting Iran.

But ISIS is defeated, and like everyone else, Iran is scaling back its involvement in Syria. That’s giving Israel fewer targets, and it’s a really inopportune time for that. With the Israeli election looming, officials are all keyed up to win votes with quasi-legal airstrikes.

That’s got some analysts predicting Israel will look for other Iranian targets outside of Syria. The simplest place would be Iraq, where US media outlets have spent years calling the Iraqi government’s paramilitary forces “Iran-backed militias.”

Israel’s military intelligence has said that “Iran may use Iraq as a launching pad to target Israel, which would call for a response from Tel Aviv”.

“Israeli airstrikes against Iranian forces in Syria may prompt Iranians to build military and missile facilities,” it said in its annual assessment, adding: “This situation will require Israel to intensify its intelligence efforts in Iraq, with the possibility of taking operational steps there if Iranian proliferation becomes a military threat”.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stole the show during a Trump administration summit in Warsaw, Poland focused on “peace and security” in the Middle East when he said the meeting would be helpful “to advance the common interest of war with Iran.” Although the the statement was quickly scrubbed from social media and replaced with a message of “combatting Iran,” the Iranian government, and many others, took notice.

The initial statement was made in a press release issued by the Prime Minister’s office this afternoon in Poland.

“From here I am going to a meeting with 60 foreign ministers and envoys of countries from around the world against Iran. What is important about this meeting – and this meeting is not in secret, because there are many of those – is that this is an open meeting with representatives of leading Arab countries, that are sitting down together with Israel in order to advance the common interest of war with Iran.”

Vice President Mike Pence accused “the murderous revolutionary regime” of Iran of calling for “another Holocaust” during a two-day summit in Warsaw yesterday where the Trump administration is rallying support for action against the Islamic Republic.

Administration officials have long used strong rhetoric on Iran, but the speech marked a first for alleging a so-called genocidal plot.

Speaking of a visit to Auschwitz planned for today Pence began, “anti-Semitism must be confronted, wherever and whenever it arises, and it must be universally condemned.” Turning his attention to Iran, he continued, “But beyond its hateful rhetoric, the Iranian regime openly advocates another Holocaust and it seeks the means to achieve it.”

A US Air Force officer has defected to Iran and shared information that could cause “serious damage” to America’s national security, officials have revealed.

The former Air Force intelligence specialist was charged with espionage and was accused of working for Iran, according to an unsealed federal indictment.

The announcement arrived after assistant attorney general for national security John Demers and other senior officials held a call with reporters to discuss what they called “a national security related action involving Iran”.

The officials discussed the unsealed indictment against Monica Witt, a former counterintelligence officer for the Air Force Office of Special Investigations. Ms Witt defected to Iran nearly six years ago in 2013

US Vice-President Mike Pence has demanded that Europe withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal and lashed out at the EU’s efforts to evade Washington’s sanctions on Tehran.

Speaking at a security conference in Warsaw, Pence chastised Europe for leading an “effort to create mechanisms to break up our sanctions” against Iran, and complained that European countries had not been “cooperative” since the Trump administration withdrew from the Iran deal last year.

“The time has come for our European partners to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal” and join with the US to give the Iranian people and the world “peace, security and freedom,” he said.

Pence said the EU’s newly created Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), conceived as a way to continue facilitating trade between the EU and Iran, was an “ill-advised step” which would only “strengthen Iran, weaken the EU, and create still more distance between Europe and the United States.”

Webmaster's Commentary:

Apparently, Vice-President Pence is absolutely tone-deaf to how he is coming across to European heads of state, with such unhinged, and uncharacteristically hubristic threats against US European allies.

The countries in Europe want to make money, and need Iran's oil to do so.

So, what are he and President Trump going to do, if they don't get their way?!? Bomb Europe?!? Bomb Iran?!?

This meeting in Poland, was doomed to be an epic fail even before it began; Iran's president, Hassan Rouhani, was absolutely correct in his prediction of this happening precisely the way he said it would.

And President Trump, it is very unfortunate ... that your only understanding of both Iran's history, and future trajectory, comes exclusively from the Butcher of Gaza, Israel's Prime Minister Netanyahu.

And I have a video you should absolutely see, before you decide on how hard you are going to militarily shatter this country, because your economic sanctions are going utterly nowhere, as evidenced by the Polish meeting in Warsaw: Don't Tell Mother I'm In Iran

This little trip, done by a very charming Jewish videographer, was to see just how the Jewish community was faring in Iran, and the good news is that the resounding answer was, "Quite Well!" He was shown a beautiful synagogue, and the Majlis Building (their Parliament), where minority religions are guaranteed a seat at the national table, which includes Christians, Jews, and the Bahai.

Mr. President, Netanyahu could fly to Tehran, and make peace within a day's worth of work; but he absolutely will not, as his "vision" of Iran is just as flawed as is humanly possible. It's about controlling the oil and regime change here, to create something more to Israel's and the US's liking.

But Mr. President, there is a reality that you and Netanyahu are going to have to face; this year marks the 40th anniversary of the Iranian Revolution. People are living better than they ever did under the Shah, and feel they have a future, both as individuals, and as a nation.

You were utterly mistaken that Europe would just collectively" drop dead", in its dealings with Iran, and this "conference" was proof positive that they wouldn't.

I think it is high time for you and Prime Minister Netanyahu to collectively dust off that word neither of you like to hear or use frequently, and that word is...(drum roll, please....) NEGOTIATIONS. Because if the threats and sanctions are not working, because they are totally unrealistic for our European allies, what else do you have to fall back on; an invasion, which will almost surely bring Russia to Iran's defense?!?

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu startled Iranians and even the White House on Wednesday with a strident call for Israeli-Arab action against the government in Tehran that was translated by his office as urging "war with Iran."

Although Israeli officials tried to soften the reference by altering the English translation, the provocative comment was likely to further the perception that Israel, its Gulf Arab neighbors and the United States are interested in using military action to topple the government of Iran. It comes at a particularly delicate moment, as the Trump administration uses a U.S.-organized summit in Warsaw and this week's 40th anniversary of the Iranian Revolution to try to rally the world against the government in Tehran.

Vice President Mike Pence told a conference of European and Middle East leaders on Thursday that Iran is plotting to eliminate Israel from the face of the earth, and seeks to unleash a 'new Holocaust.'

With Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu watching, Pence said in Poland that Tehran poses 'the greatest threat to peace and security' in the region.

Hours earlier, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters that 'confronting Iran' is a necessary step for any nation that wants to 'achieve peace and stability in the Middle East.'

***>>>Mohammad Mosaddegh, the democratically elected prime minister of Iran who was deposed and imprisoned at the behest of powerful interests by Dwight Eisenhower and Winston Churchill over access to Iranian oil.>>>

(*we can still blame the democrats , by simply going full on denial of any 'stinking' Obama Iran Deal !

Israel and Arab countries are in talks “in order to advance the common interest of war with Iran”, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said, although the translation from Hebrew was later downgrade to mere “struggle.”
The promise of a major conflict in the Middle East was floated by the Israeli leader during his trip to Warsaw.

“From here I am going to a meeting with 60 foreign ministers and envoys of countries from around the world against Iran,” Netanyahu said as quoted by Jerusalem Post.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday, in what could be a possible gaffe, that his meetings with Arab leaders in Poland are "in order to advance the common interest of combating Iran."

The comments were made to reporters on the sidelines of the Warsaw Middle East ministerial following Netanyahu's meeting with the Sultanate of Oman's Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs, Yusuf bin Alawi.

"Here I am going to a meeting with 60 foreign ministers and envoys of countries from around the world against Iran," Netanyahu said. "What is important about this meeting—and this meeting is not in secret, because there are many of those—is that this is an open meeting with representatives of leading Arab countries, that are sitting down together with Israel in order to advance the common interest of combating Iran."

Iranians have taken to the streets across the country to mark the 40th anniversary of the 1979 revolution,” reads a Monday morning Al Jazeera report, “renewing their allegiance to the country’s Islamic principles at a time of rising economic and political pressure amid the resumption of punishing US sanctions.”

So much terrible history rammed into one sentence: The brutal U.S.-backed regime of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi; the 1979 revolution and the 444-day hostage crisis that roiled the 1980 presidential election; four decades of turmoil, sanctions, secret deals and Cold War manipulation; a ray of hope after the Obama administration’s nuclear deal with Iran that was slapped down by the Trump administration; a return to ruinous sanctions; and, as ever over these 40 years, a looming threat of war.

Iran is marking the 40th anniversary of the country's Islamic Revolution. In light of the occasion, Sputnik spoke to journalists, geopolitical observers, and academics about the achievements and setbacks Iran has faced in the four decades after the revolution, and its significance in broader world history.

On 11 February 1979, guerrillas and rebel forces overwhelmed troops loyal to US-backed ruler Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi in street clashes in the Iranian capital, bringing a dramatic culmination to months of upheaval, street protests, and behind-the-scenes political and diplomatic manoeuvring which ultimately led to the establishment of the Islamic Republic.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has confirmed the Israeli army hit targets in Syria in an attempt to discourage Iran from gaining a foothold there. Israeli shells have reportedly hit a hospital and an observation post.

"We operate every day, including yesterday, against Iran and its attempts to entrench itself in the region," Netanyahu said as he was about to depart to the Middle East conference in Warsaw, Poland on Tuesday, confirming a Monday attack on Syria's southern Quneitra province.

During a Wednesday night interview with FOX Business host Trish Regan, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made several statements that raised eyebrows, such as claiming that Cuba had invaded Venezuela and “taken control” of the Venezuela’s “security apparatus” and that U.S. sanctions illegally imposed on Venezuela “aren’t aimed at the Venezuelan people.”

However, the most surprising claim Pompeo made in the interview was that Hezbollah and Iran were “active” in Venezuela, presenting a national security “risk for America.”

After accusing China, Cuba and Russia of interfering with U.S. efforts to install U.S.-funded opposition figure Juan Guaidó and oust current Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, Pompeo made the following assertion:

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Iran Tuesday that Israeli missiles can travel "very far", on the eve of a conference in Poland about peace and security in the Middle East.

Speaking during a visit to a naval base in the northern port of Haifa, Netanyahu said: "The missiles you see behind me can go very far, against any enemy, including Iran's proxies in our region" -- an apparent reference to Lebanon's powerful Hezbollah movement.

"We are constantly working according to our understanding and the need to prevent Iran and its proxies from entrenching on our northern boder and in our region in general," Netanyahu added.

Earlier, Tehran appealed to the International Court of Justice to help get its sovereign wealth back home following a 2016 ruling by the US Supreme Court that the money should be paid to survivors and relatives of a 1983 terrorist attack in Lebanon which the US blamed on Iran.

The ICJ has ruled that Iran can proceed with its case to try to recover its money on Wednesday, with Hague judges rejecting US claims that the case should be thrown out due to Iran's alleged links to international terrorism, AFP has reported.

The court "unanimously finds that it has jurisdiction…to rule on the application filed by the Islamic Republic of Iran on June 14, 2016, and that the said application is admissible," a Hague judge said.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived in Budapest on Monday, kicking off a multi-leg tour of Central Europe in a bid to cement US partnerships in the region against other major powers, including Russia and China.

Washington is preparing to offer Warsaw an increased US military presence in Poland in exchange for a Polish refusal to engage in closer cooperation with China and Iran, Rzeczpospolita reported, citing diplomatic sources.

"The situation is very dynamic. At the moment, the Americans are improving their offer qualitatively. Its essence is that no one in the world should have any doubts about America's unconditional involvement in the defence of Poland," one high-ranking diplomatic source told the newspaper.

An almost unbelievable and shocking spy revelation has been uncovered in a new report by The Daily Mail. An Iranian nuclear scientist who was smuggled out of Iran and into the UK, and then on to the United States had previously helped Israeli intelligence plan the assassination of another nuclear scientist inside Iran.

The defected Iranian scientist, only identified as a 47-year-old male "nuclear technician" reportedly crossed the English channel on an inflatable raft while hiding among a larger group of migrants. In a line that sounds straight out of a James Bond movie, the report says "MI6 spies smuggled a defecting Iranian nuclear scientist into the UK on a dinghy by using Channel migrant crisis as cover."

Israel has sent troops to Afghanistan to collect intelligence on Iranian military movement, Iranian media has reported.

According to Iran’s Tasnim news agency, Israeli troops are operating out of a United States Air Force base in Shindand in the western Afghanistan province of Herat some 75 kilometers from the Iranian border and were collecting intelligence on Iranian movement around the Persian Gulf region.

On the 40th anniversary of Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution, President Trump attempted to reach out to Iranians in their own language by tweeting "the long-suffering Iranian people deserve a much brighter future." Notably this marks the first time in history a sitting US president issued a social media statement in Persian, or the Farsi language.

Though we don't expect the "birthday wishes" on the occasion of the Ayatollah's founding their Islamic Republic to be received too warmly inside Iran, as the message also appeared a veiled threat of regime change.

We wonder what poor low-level CIA or State Department analyst had to be pulled from their work and into the White House to compose the foreign language tweet for the president.

Webmaster's Commentary:

Right now, after Mike Pompeo's speech last week, claiming that Hezbollah was also in Venezuela, and Iranian-linked, I just wanted to laugh out loud.

Unfortunately, what this may mean is, The Unhinged Ones in the Bowels of Power in DC , lusting to create their "own propaganda", so will actually conjure up some kind of alleged attack/false flag in Venezuela, claim that Iran/Hezbollah did this, and off we will go, into yet another set of military misadventures, again, fighting wars in two hemispheres, one in the Middle East.

President Trump, it gives me no pleasure to have to say this, but the way, and the obscene degree, to which U.S. foreign policy on Iran is driven by Tel Aviv's agenda, is officially horrible, and detrimental to the way other countries in the Middle East see the US Government and this absolutely must stop.

If the US government is going to stand on the right side of history on this issue, at the end of the day, the US government needs to give the Iranian people, a real choice in how they wish to govern themselves, and who they pick for ultimate leadership; and yes, we understand that Iran is a theocracy....but so is Israel.

40 years is a very short time in Iran's history, since the time of the Shaw was overthrown; if you, or I had the chance to speak with a younger Iranian person, still in college, and find out what their dreams and hopes are for their lives, as well as the lives for their families and friends, what I think would be that many of them are surprisingly contemporary, and want to see the political process open up, and become more liberal here.

But "regime change" in Iran to control its oil, with Russia most probably assisting Iran militarily if this does happen, can have absolutely catastrophic consequences which can never be reversed.

Bill Pulte discusses the Blight Authority’s impressive progress
Cleaning up areas where politicians and authorities failed
Getting rid of the crime and the drugs infesting cities
Donations fund the Blight Authority, locals love it
Bill has connections with HUD and key local authoritieshttps://www.theblightauthority.com/id...
Uses for the cleared, available land
Why is peace in the Middle East now possible?
Questions are about to be answered
Why has President Trump been so nice to Saudi Arabia?
Why has President Trump been so nice to Putin?
Iran has been pushed to the brink of bankruptcy
President Trump’s funny tweet about Amy Klobuchar in the snow
Amy and her staff appeared amateurish
Khamenei “death to America” clarification
He means death to President Trump, Pompeo and Bolton
Interesting because…
Americans like the Iranian people

Iran is prepared to boost the capacity of its uranium enrichment to 190,000 separative work units (SWUs), an official at the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) says.

"Based on a decree by the Leader of the Islamic Revolution [Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei] and the emphasis put on this issue by head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, the country is ready to increase its uranium enrichment capacity to 190,000 SWUs," Behrouz Kamalvandi, the AEOI's spokesman, said on Sunday.

Back in January, Ayatollah Khamenei ordered the AEOI to make preparations for the enrichment of uranium up to a level of 190,000 SWUs without any delay.

Tehran has brushed off US calls to pull its forces out of Middle East countries, saying that it is the ‘enemy’ Washington who should go back home. It comes as Iran marks 40 years since the Islamic Revolution.
As the US’ own forces start to withdraw from Syria, Washington is increasingly worried that Tehran is getting too entrenched in the war-torn country. The US has repeatedly lambasted Iran for its presence in Syria, where Tehran maintains ‘military advisers.’

On Monday, the deputy head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards fired back at Washington: “The enemy cannot ask us to leave the region. They must leave the region.”

“We will help any Muslim anywhere in the world,” Brigadier General Hossein Salami added.

It’s not the first time that Iran has rejected US demands to curb its ‘influence.’ Last week, a senior aide to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Ali Akbar Velayati, warned: “Whether they want to or not, the Americans must leave Syria.”

Webmaster's Commentary:

Mr. President, a word please; last time I checked Russia and Iran had been invited by the government of Syria to assist it in getting rid of the western funded, trained, and supported jihadists: the US government was not invited to this particular party, in case the memo never reached you.

In fact, this US occupation of Syria falls under the heading of " a major crime against sovereign state."

And sir, this stated objective that the US has to stay in Syria to watch Iran?!? I don't know if any one has mentioned this to you, but even though you have pulled the US out of the P5+1, Iran, as declared through the IAEA's certifications, Iran is still keeping its part of the deal.

Has Iran started a war in the last two hundred years?!? The short answer is no, Mr. President; they have not. So why in the world is the US "watching them" from Syria?!?

Surely, there has to be another reason. Perhaps creating a false flag in Syria, blame it on the Iranians, and off we would be going, into an Israel-favored war?!? I would like to hope - and pray - that this is not the design objective of the US staying in Syria.

And Mr. President, there is another issue which the American people would like to have explained; why is it, sir, that Iran has signed the NNPT, but Israel has not, meaning, of course, that they are not entitled to any money or weaponry, according to the Mann Act and the Symington Amendment?!?

Isn't the US violating its own law, every time Israel gets more money, or weaponry from the US?!? Can you explain this to us, please?!?

And your excuse for staying in Syria being that we must "protect Israel" with our Syrian occupation?!? President Trump, can you enlighten us on the latest and greatest package passed by Congress for Israeli aid?!?

Sir, forgive me, but at this massive cost to the US government (while homeless Vets still sleep rough in our streets, and our infrastructure is crumbling around us), one might imagine that possibly, just possibly, with all that illegal cash, that Israel is receiving from the US, Israel would be fully capable of protecting itself.

So the answers you have provided ring utterly hollow, as the "reasons why" the US military is still in Syria. What you and Israel may have in mind for Syria and Iran, I shudder to contemplate.

On Monday, hundreds of thousands of Iranians held nation-wide rallies to mark the 40th anniversary of the fall of the Shah and the triumph of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the Shiite cleric who led an Islamic Revolution that rattles the West to this day.

"The United States does not have the courage to shoot a single bullet at us despite all its defensive and military assets. But if they attack us, we will raze Tel Aviv and Haifa to the ground," Yadollah Javani, the Guards' deputy head for political affairs said during a rally celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Islamic revolution.

On 11 February 1979, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomenei came to power in Iran, replacing Shah Mohammad-Reza Pahlavi's Western-backed and installed the Islamic Republic. What few knew at the time, and indeed today, is the British government played a pivotal role in supporting the leader for years before and after the Islamic Revolution.

"If you lift up Ayatollah Khomeini's beard, you'll find 'MADE IN ENGLAND' written on his chin," raged Shah of Iran Mohammad-Reza Pahlavi, not long before the insurrectionary fervour which had angrily surged throughout his kingdom for a great many months finally swept him from power in January 1979, ending his nigh-on 38-year reign.

Senior diplomatic sources in Tehran revealed that US President Donald Trump is seriously attempting to open a channel to hold direct talks with his Iranian counterpart and travel to the country.

The US is not so much serious in the current sanctions given the waivers granted to certain countries… and it is trying to make a communication bridge to Iran," Amir Moussavi, a former Iranian diplomat, told the Arabic-language al-Mayadeen news channel on Friday.

"Based on information I have, a message was sent from Washington (via mediators) for direct talks with Mr. Rouhani. Even Mr. Trump has voiced readiness to visit Tehran," he added.

Moussavi said that Iran has rejected Trump's demand for a visit to Tehran>>>

American government has become a collection of sordid and dangerous clowns. It was not always thus. Until Bush II, those governing were never lunatics. Eisenhower, Truman, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Obama, Clinton had their defects, were sometimes corrupt, and could be disagreed with on many grounds. They weren’t crazy. Today’s administration would seem unwholesome in a New York bus station at three in the morning. They are not normal American politicians.

In particular they seem to be pushing for war with Iran, China, Russia, and Venezuela. And–this is important–their behavior is not a matter of liberals catfighting with conservatives. All former presidents carefully avoided war with the Soviet Union, which carefully avoided war with America.

During a Wednesday night interview with FOX Business host Trish Regan, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made several statements that raised eyebrows, such as claiming that Cuba had invaded Venezuela and “taken control” of the Venezuela’s “security apparatus” and that U.S. sanctions illegally imposed on Venezuela “aren’t aimed at the Venezuelan people.”

However, the most surprising claim Pompeo made in the interview was that Hezbollah and Iran were “active” in Venezuela, presenting a national security “risk for America.”

After accusing China, Cuba and Russia of interfering with U.S. efforts to install U.S.-funded opposition figure Juan Guaidó and oust current Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, Pompeo made the following assertion:

Webmaster's Commentary:

Forgive me, but has this man gone absolutely bonkers, and swallowed the Koolaid, in order to make that assertion?!?!?

But I can imagine, after Pompeo's having made such a ludicrous statement, what the follow-through action is going to have to be; something in Venezuela, or an American asset overseas, will be hit with a US-generated false flag, to be blamed both on Iran and Venezuela, and off we'll go.

Pompeo and President Trump have to know that, after all the lies about US intentions overseas, coupled with the hard economic truth of why we have invaded so many countries, Americans are both war-weary, and war-skeptical.

If Pompeo stops making reference to this, perhaps it was just a lousy attempt to somehow tie Hezbollah and Iran into this destabilization in Venezuela; but if he continues harping on this, you can bet your sweet bippy that something wicked this way comes, even if the US government has to fabricate it.

“Unveiling this missile production city deep underground is an answer to the idle talk made by the Westerners, who assume they can restrict us and dissuade us from [pursuing] our long-term goals by means of threats and sanctions,” Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari, the IRGC’s chief commander, said during the unveiling ceremony on Thursday.

The ceremony, which was joined by the commander of the IRGC’s Aerospace Division, Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, also featured the inauguration of a smart surface-to-surface missile dubbed Dezful.

“Today, the mass production of advanced precision and smart missiles became a reality within the IRGC’s aerospace force,” Jafari hailed.

A Baghdad-sanctioned umbrella organization of an estimated 50 mainly Shiite militias, including some backed by Iran, engaged in illicit activities in recent months that undermine security and stability in Iraq, the office of the inspector general (OIG) at the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) stressed this week.

In its latest quarterly (October 1 thru December 31, 2018) assessment of the mission against the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) in Iraq and Syria, the inspector general (IG) noted:

While the Pentagon is withdrawing from the « Greater Middle East » to invest in the « Caribbean Basin », the White House is getting ready to reorganise its allies in the region. To this aim, a « Ministerial to Promote a Future of Peace and Security in the Middle East » will be held in Warsaw on the 14 and 15 February. All the allies of the USA will be participating, but not their partners : neither Russia, nor China.

Hashd Al-Shaabi Commander: US Plans to Approach Iranian Borders in Cooperation with ISIL
A senior commander of Hashd al-Shaabi (Iraqi popular forces) warned that the US in collaboration with the ISIL terrorists has hatched plots to approach the strategic bordering regions with Iran.
***
Al-Ma'amouri said that the ISIL has increased efforts to infiltrate into regions near Khaneqein at the Iraqi-Iranian borders after Trump declared withdrawal of forces from Syria, adding that the US forces want to find a foothold in certain parts of Hawz Hamrin by creating tensions in the region.

He stated that all Iraqi groups have voiced opposition to this measure, noting that Hashd al-Shaabi will not allow the US to deploy in Diyali and Cobra base.

In relevant remarks last month, a senior commander of Hashd al-Shaabi in al-Anbar province warned that the US forces are attempting to provoke the Iraqi popular forces into starting war against them.

"The Americans are stirring tensions by spreading rumors of detention of Hashd al-Shaabi forces, bombing their positions or dissolving the group">>>

Contrary to the article, Mosaddegh was legally elected during a period of robust Iranian democracy, and he was known as a beloved leader and a fiery speaker. His was such an iconic voice for his people that he was voted Time magazine’s Man of the Year after being named prime minister. It was strange that such venom as Allemann’s should describe a popular democrat once praised by President Harry Truman. Was Allemann signaling some conflict between the respective interests of Mosaddegh and Encounter?

In fact, the magazine’s name signaled an “East-West Encounter”; it was intended to give its editors (and readers) wide cultural reach, from London and Western Europe all the way to Africa, India and East Asia. But what motive might Allemann have had to blame the out-of-office Mosaddegh for the nation’s current problems?

In a pre-Super Bowl interview on Sunday, President Donald Trump discussed his plan for a troop withdrawal from Syria, which, as it turns out, doesn’t involve many troops vacating the Middle East. Instead, Trump said the troops would mostly be “going to our base in Iraq.”

CBS’s Margaret Brennan held a wide-ranging interview with Trump, in the course of which she asked him about the intelligence community’s “concern” that a “vacuum” left by the U.S. pullout could cause a “resurgence of ISIS.”

“We can come back very quickly, and I’m not leaving. We have a base in Iraq,” Trump said, referring to the Al Asad Air Base in the Anbar province. The 2,000 troops in Syria will “be going to our base in Iraq, and ultimately some will be coming home. But we’re going to be there and we’re going to be staying,” Trump added.

At face value - the notion that the US occupation of Syria is key to preventing the return of the so-called "Islamic State" (ISIS) to Syrian territory is unconvincing.

Regions west of the Euphrates River where ISIS had previously thrived have since been permanently taken back by the Syrian Arab Army and its Russian and Iranian allies - quite obviously without any support from the United States - and in fact - despite Washington's best efforts to hamper Damascus' security operations.

Damascus and its Russian and Iranian allies have demonstrated that ISIS can be permanently defeated. With ISIS supply lines running out of NATO-territory in Turkey and from across the Jordanian and Iraqi border cut off - Syrian forces have managed to sustainably suppress the terrorist organization's efforts to reestablish itself west of the Euphrates.

Webmaster's Commentary:

There is no real justification for the US military to be in Syria, no matter how much the talking heads at the DOD and Whitehouse embrace that view; it is simply another "jumping off point" for more US military mischief and destabilization, in the Middle East.

Moscow and Tehran have “essentially” turned away from the greenback in bilateral trade, and are using the ruble and rial for payments, the Russian ambassador to the Islamic Republic has revealed.

Turning to cross-currency trade was a “vital” issue for both Russia and Iran, and the two countries are planning to use “all available means” to boost these efforts, Levan Dzhagaryan said in an interview with TASS.

Four banks in the Islamic Republic of Iran have developed a gold-backed cryptocurrency called PayMon, financial news website Financial Tribune reported on Jan. 30.

According to the article, the crypto asset has been developed in cooperation with the Parsian Bank, the Bank Pasargad, Bank Melli Iran and Bank Mellat. Iran Fara Bourse, an over-the-counter (OTC) cryptocurrency exchange, will reportedly list the new cryptocurrency.

The director of Kuknos, the blockchain company taking care of the technical aspects, said that the new crypto asset is a way to tokenize assets and excess properties of the banks. A billion PayMon tokens will be initially released, according to the article.

The US announced plans to withdraw its troops from Syria in December 2018, with President Donald Trump saying that American troops had succeeded in eliminating Daesh* in the region.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced on 6 February that several Middle East countries would soon announce plans to take part in a NATO-type alliance to counter Iran. He said that negotiations regarding the matter are "continuing to advance" and added that participants will "develop an outline that is not reactive".

"We'll develop a strategic framework which will keep the Middle East more stable in the years to come", Pompeo added.

“Dictators, butchers and extremists” backed by the US are leaving the Middle East in ruins, Iran’s foreign minister said, after Donald Trump labeled his country “the world’s leading sponsor of terror” and a “corrupt dictatorship.”

“Iranians – including our Jewish compatriots – are commemorating 40 years of progress despite US pressure, just as Donald Trump again makes accusations against us,” Mohammad Javad Zarif told his Twitter followers, referring to the US president’s attacks on Iran in his 2019 State of the Union address.

US hostility “has led it to support dictators, butchers and extremists, who’ve only brought ruin to our region,” Zarif stated.

The secretary of Iran's National Security Council warned Israel on Tuesday of a firm and "deterrent" response if it continued attacking targets in Syria.

"If these actions continue, we will activate some calculated measures as a deterrent and as a firm and appropriate response to teach a lesson to the criminal and lying rulers of Israel," Ali Shamkhani was quoted as saying by Fars news agency. (Reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin Editing by Andrew Heavens)

Webmaster's Commentary:

Unfortunately, it appears that what Syria's Secretary of Iranian National Security has done, has been to nearly guarantee another Israeli bombing raid against Syria.

Already backing away from withdrawing from Syria and Afghanistan, President Trump really raised a lot of questions with his quotes over the weekend on Iraq. Trump insisted that US troops “might as well” stay in Iraq and that they’d use it to “watch Iran.”

This puzzled a lot of administration officials. The Pentagon said no one told them the mission for the troops in Iraq was ever changed to watching Iran. The State Department says that the troops aren’t watching Iran at all, and that troops are in Iraq out of respect for “mutual sovereignty.”

The Iraqi government is already having some trouble with US views of their sovereignty, and these comments aren’t helping. President Barham Salih warned that Iraq had never given US troops in their country permission to watch anybody.

Other Iraqi officials concurred, saying that they would not allow Iraq to be used as a staging area for moves against a neighbor, and that the US should not “overburden Iraq with your own issues.”

ASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump indicated this weekend that some US troops in Syria would remain there “to protect Israel,” in an apparent shift from his earlier insistence on an absolute withdrawal.

In an interview with Margaret Brennan of CBS News, Trump was pressed to identify precisely how much of America’s force presence there would be coming home – and how quickly.

WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump indicated this weekend that some US troops in Syria would remain there “to protect Israel,” in an apparent shift from his earlier insistence on an absolute withdrawal.

In an interview with Margaret Brennan of CBS News, Trump was pressed to identify precisely how much of America’s force presence there would be coming home – and how quickly.

“We’re going to be there and we’re going to be staying. We have to protect Israel,” he replied. “We have to protect other things that we have. But we’re – yeah, they’ll be coming back in a matter of time.”

Webmaster's Commentary:

The logical question which should have been asked by this alleged CBS reporter, and of course was not is, with all the money and equipment with which the US has gifted Israel, why in the name of heaven does Israel need protecting at all, more than what the US has already given, and committed to give to Israel?!?

Apparently,"amazingly intellectually lazy and woefully uninformed " is the new "standard" for reporting at CBS. Because had she actually bothered to do her homework, she would have understood the following:

"Securing Israel. The FY 2019 budget codifies the 10-year memorandum of understanding (MOU) that the Obama Administration signed with the Israeli government in September 2016. This MOU offered “the single largest pledge of military assistance in US history”—$38 billion over a decade. The language included in FY 2019 is unprecedented in its scope and content, lavishing US support on one single ally. The decision to help Israel with unmanned aerial systems came after Iran, Hezbollah, and IS flew drones in Syria during the past few years. This US support comes as the Israeli government seems increasingly concerned about the backlash of US-Iranian tensions and the potential for a growing number of heavy rockets and long-range missiles launched toward Israel. The FY 2019 budget urges the Trump Administration to begin talks with the Israeli government to determine “the quantity and type of precision guided munitions in the event of a sustained armed confrontation” with Hezbollah and Hamas."

Please let that number sink in : $38 billion dollars over ten years. means that Israel will be receiving $3,800,000,000 per year over 10 years.

So if, in fact, Israel is being provided getting nearly 4 billion dollars per year for the next decade, courtesy of the highly generous US taxpayers, (who, of course, had utterly no say in this matter), then why is this nuclear-armed, self-proclaimed theocracy, pathologically incapable of defending itself against Syria, or, in fact, Iran?!?

And forgive me, President Trump, but is it not totally illegal for the US government to give any aid or military assistance to Israel because it refuses to have its nuclear sites inspected, and to join the NNPT, as Iran has done, because such aid is in flagrant violation of both the Mann Act, and the Symington Amendment?!?

just doing a little "reality check" here, sir.

Sorry, Mr. President, with these statements regarding the the reasons for the US military staying in Syria, you just threw logic right smack on its head, and it is suffering from a severe concussion.

The US presence at al-Tanf in Eastern Syria, has utterly nothing to do with "defending Israel", but everything to do with having a military "beach head" for a potential invasion of Iran.

Israel’s Prime Minister said on Sunday that the General Election campaign would not stop his government from bombing the Gaza Strip or Iran, Anadolu has reported. The election is due to be held in April.

“If calm is not maintained in Gaza, Israel will not hesitate to move against it even during the election period,” Benjamin Netanyahu told his weekly Cabinet meeting. “I [also] have a message to the tyrants in Tehran: Israel will continue moving overtly to protect its future.”

The Israeli occupation authorities continue to fear any Palestinian retaliation for the Israel Defence Forces’ ongoing aggression and killing of unarmed demonstrators taking part in the Great March of Return protests along the nominal border between the Gaza Strip and Israel.

Webmaster's Commentary:

Let's translate that" Netanyahuese" from that 2nd paragraph, and the sentence " Israel will continue moving overtly to protect its future.”

What Netanyahu really means here, is "We will bomb the crap out of your country, with the help of our American and Saudi "friends" leaving hundreds dead and dying, regime change the country, and never let you have a say as to how you want that country run, because the West will "impose" a governmental structure for you which suits their needs, both economically, and geopolitically.

Remember that 'Shah guy' the West imposed on Iran after deposing its legitimately elected President, Mohammad Mosaddegh?!? It will be something like that, only... worse!"

You're welcome, Mr. Prime Minister; thanks for letting me clear that one up for you!!

Earlier this week, the DNI and his CIA director elicited a stern rebuke from President Trump after contradicting him by warning that Iran remained "technically" in compliance with the nuclear deal and that ISIS remained a threat in the Middle East, prompting Trump to warn that Iran remained a threat, and that Trump was right to scrap the Iran deal because "they are testing Rockets (last week) and more, and are coming very close to the edge."

Israel’s Prime Minister said on Sunday that the General Election campaign would not stop his government from bombing the Gaza Strip or Iran, Anadolu has reported. The election is due to be held in April.

“If calm is not maintained in Gaza, Israel will not hesitate to move against it even during the election period,” Benjamin Netanyahu told his weekly Cabinet meeting. “I [also] have a message to the tyrants in Tehran: Israel will continue moving overtly to protect its future.”

The Israeli occupation authorities continue to fear any Palestinian retaliation for the Israel Defence Forces’ ongoing aggression and killing of unarmed demonstrators taking part in the Great March of Return protests along the nominal border between the Gaza Strip and Israel. Protesters are calling for an end to the 12-year siege of Gaza led by Israel, and to reinforce their legitimate right to return to their homes and land occupied since Israel was created in 1948.

Having drifted back and forth a few times on the US withdrawals from Syria and Afghanistan, President Trump seemed solid on leaving last week, but facing growing opposition from the Senate now shows signs of backtracking once again.

Previously talking up how the wars in Afghanistan and Syria can’t last forever, Trump is now saying he wants a “smaller number” of troops to stay in Afghanistan, despite the Taliban already making it clear that was a non-starter for the peace deal.

In Syria, Trump is now focused on the idea that the pullout can only happen after assuring that “Israel is protected,” which is as close to a recipe for permanent warfare as one can get. Israeli officials have made clear they want the war to be about Iran, not ISIS.

And that seems to be he case in Iraq, as well, where President Trump is now saying US troops will remain, seemingly forever, to “watch Iran,” and make sure they don’t “do nuclear weapons or other things.”

During a Sunday interview with CBS, President Trump insisted that the US has an “incredible base” in Iraq after years of wars, and “might as well keep it.” He suggested there troops would be staying more or less forever.

His justification for this, beyond “might as well,” was that it’s right next to Iran. Trump claimed Iran is the cause of “every single” major difficulty in the Middle East, and keeping US troops in Iraq would allow them to “watch” Iran.

“We’re going to keep watching and if there’s trouble, if somebody is looking to do nuclear weapons or other things, we’re going to know it before they do,” Trump insisted. It’s not clear how that would work, particularly with respect to knowing “before they do.”

Trump went on to say he has no intention to use US troops in Iraq to strike Iran, and that “all I want to do is be able to watch.” The US has, of course, threatened to attack Iran several times, but Iraq has ruled out letting the US use their territory to do so.

Iraq’s president resoundingly dismissed Trump’s idea of a US vigil on his country’s border, stating he had not asked for permission to “watch Iran.” Barham Salih instead suggested the US stick to its mission fighting terrorism.

The US Army has concluded that Iran was the only victor of the eight-year US campaign to remove Iraqi president Saddam Hussein and replace him with a democratic regime.

That’s one of the findings of a massive historical study released Jan. 17, the first major military review of the Iraq war’s lessons. Commissioned in 2013 by General Ray Odierno, then the Army’s top commander, it was conducted by half a dozen field grade officers at the US Army War College.

The report consists of two volumes, one on the initial 2003 invasion and another covering the 2007 pivot to counter-insurgency until the majority of US troops were withdrawn in 2011. The final assessment is sobering reading:

The European Union has announced the setting up of a payment mechanism to secure trade with Iran and skirt US sanctions after Washington pulled out of the landmark nuclear deal last May.

The proposal of a financial instrument has been a key element in the EU's strategy to keep Iran from quitting the 2015 nuclear agreement, which was signed to prevent Tehran from building nuclear weapons in exchange for sanctions relief.

The new institution, named INSTEX - Instrument In Support Of Trade Exchanges - will allow trade between the EU and Iran without relying on direct financial transactions. It is a project of the governments of France, Germany and Britain and will receive the formal endorsement of all 28 EU members.

The administration of US President Donald Trump has been closely eyeing European efforts to establish the financial mechanism and warned any attempt to evade its "maximum pressure" campaign on Iran would be subject to stiff penalties.

U.S. intelligence officials confirmed to the Senate Intelligence Committee, on Tuesday, that Iran was not developing nuclear weapons in violation of the 2015 nuclear agreement, and furthermore had no strategic plans to do so.

This report from the US intelligence community indicate that Israel’s Netanyahu and his American cohort, Donald Trump, have deliberately misinformed the world regarding Iranian nuclear capability. The state of Israel, which is estimated to have in excess of more than 400 undeclared nuclear warheads must be compared to Iran which is not a nuclear weapon state. Who, therefore, is the threat to world peace?

Lest anyone be tempted to believe that President Trump and other U.S. interventionists are intervening in Venezuela because of some purported concern for the Venezuelan people, let’s examine just a few examples that will bring a dose of reality to the situation. This latest intervention is nothing more than another interventionist power play, one intended to replace one dictatorial regime with another.

Egypt comes to mind. It is ruled by one of the most brutal and tyrannical military dictatorships in the world. The U.S. government loves it, supports it, and partners with it. There is no concern for the Egyptian citizenry, who have to suffer under this brutal tyranny and oppression.

Saudi Arabia also comes to mind. It too is a brutal and tyrannical dictatorship, also a murderous one. The U.S. government loves it too, supports it, and partners with it. There is no concern for Saudi citizens who have to suffer under this brutal tyranny and oppression.

Webmaster's Commentary:

It is never the people of a country the US regime changes who matter; it is always about the money and the resources.

Do you think for one moment, that the US is concerned about the people of Venezuela, rather than its proven oil reserves?!?

Two of US President Donald Trump’s top advisers designing a plan for Israeli-Palestinian peace will travel to Warsaw next month for a summit on Mideast security.

According to a senior White House official, Jared Kushner and Jason Greenblatt will attend the ministerial meeting in Poland, which is expected to draw several statesmen from the region, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

US President Donald Trump has reversed course on his spymasters’ threat assessment, insisting his initial negative reaction – in which he dismissed their reports as “wrong” and “naïve” – was based on (what else?) fake news.
Trump accused the press of “mischaracterizing” the agency chiefs’ Senate testimony earlier this week, in which they explained how much America should be concerned with ISIS, Iran, North Korea and others. The president initially lashed out at their assessment, criticizing their failure to recognize Tehran as a major threat to the US. After meeting his top spies in person, though, he insisted they all agree “very much” – a total 180 from Wednesday morning.

Washington is blocking Trump’s order to withdraw US troops, because Israel wants the US to renew the attack on Syria and to carry it into Iran. Israel and its American vassals must think that Russia is going to stand down and permit the destabilization of the Islamic world to proceed into the Russian Federation. Once upon a time the media and the foreign policy community would have publicly examined these issues. Now the media reads out the script handed to them.

Director of US National Intelligence Dan Coats says Iran will likely retaliate against Israel’s continuing air raids on Syria. Israel frequently launches attacks inside Syria, claiming to have hit Iranian targets there. Iran has been offering advisory military assistance to the Syrian government in its counter-terrorism battle.

Donald Trump’s domestic troubles, combined with the current makeup of his foreign policy team, provide a confluence of circumstances, perhaps a perfect storm, to pull the United States into a war with Iran.

Indeed, the walls are closing in around Trump. The president’s poll numbers—once seemingly impervious to an already unprecedentedly tumultuous administration—are sinking, even among his most ardent supporters, as he increasingly boxes himself into the corner of a government shutdown for which the public says he’s largely responsible. At the same time, impeachment looms on the horizon. House Democratic committee chairs are winding up for some serious investigations into a whole range of alleged misdeeds by the president and some of his Cabinet appointments, and Robert Mueller is wrapping up his investigation into Trump’s highly questionable ties to Russia.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday suggested his intelligence chiefs should 'go back to school' and lectured their 'naive' assessments on Iran after they sharply contradicted his foreign policy claims, particularly on North Korea and ISIS.

The president's response to his chiefs testimony before the Senate a day earlier was an unprecedented Twitter dressing down of America's top intelligence officials, where he called them 'extremely passive and naive,' said they were flat out 'wrong' on Iran, and suggested 'Intelligence should go back to school!.'

He railed against FBI directory Christopher Wray, CIA director Gina Haspel, and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, who painted a different picture of America's relationship with its foreign partners when they testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday.

US Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats told the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday that he believes Iran wants to “avoid a major armed conflict with Israel,” but that continued Israeli attacks on targets in Syria may ultimately spark an Iranian retaliation.

“Israeli strikes that result in Iranian casualties increase the likelihood of Iranian conventional retaliation against Israel.” Coats added that Israeli strikes are raising growing concerns that the “conflict will escalate.”

Coats’ comments actually reflect an assessment from Israeli President Reuven Rivlin made just a day before, that he believes Iran will “retaliate with greater force” against northern Israel, and that Israel can no longer trust in “understandings” with Russia to avoid Iran retaliating against attacks.

President Donald Trump chastised his own intelligence officials Wednesday morning for being soft on Iran a day after they contradicted numerous administration claims of foreign policy success.

On Tuesday, the nation's top intelligence official, who was appointed by Trump, told Senate lawmakers that the US intelligence community does not believe Iran is currently undertaking "key activities" needed to produce a nuclear bomb -- an assessment at odds with longtime administration claims that Iran is an immediate nuclear threat.

With reports that the European Union is close to establishing its trade vehicle for facilitating trade with Iran, the Trump Administration has issued a statement warning them not to defy the US sanctions. in any way.

The US reimposed sanctions on Iran after withdrawing from the P5+1 nuclear deal. EU nations did not withdraw from the deal, and companies are still allowed to trade with Iran. This, however, is difficult because US sanctions are scaring most banks away.

The EU solution is a clearing house for the trades, which allow companies to pay for Iranian goods, and Iran to pay EU companies for services, without any money crossing borders, cutting the banks out of it.

US officials are threatening stiff fines and penalties if the plan goes forward. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) says the choice is between doing business with Iran or the US. The EU, however, is betting that the US cannot afford to simply cut off Europe entirely over Iran.

Iran struck economic and trade deals with Syria on Monday, as it widens its role there after helping Syrian President Bashar al-Assad reclaim most of his country.

Tehran has reached “very important agreements on banking cooperation” with Syria, Iranian Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri said in the Syrian capital Damascus.

Iran will also help repair power stations across Syria and set up a new plant in the coastal province of Latakia, he added.

During Syria’s eight-year conflict, Tehran has dispatched forces and allied Shi’ite militias, including Hezbollah, to provide Damascus with vital military support. Experts say Tehran is now looking to reap a financial dividend.

Iran is preparing to “increase” its capabilities to deal with repercussions of the unilateral US withdrawal from the 2015 landmark nuclear agreement, the CIA chief says, also attesting to Tehran’s compliance with the international accord.

Testifying before the US Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday, CIA Director Gina Haspel said Iran was “making some preparations that would increase their ability to take a step back” from the landmark deal.

“At the moment, technically they are in compliance, but we do see them debating among themselves because they haven’t seen the economic benefits they hoped for from the deal,” she added.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says the recent signing of several agreements between Iran and Syria will pave the way for the two countries to boost their steadfastness in the face of an economic war being waged against them by certain Western countries.

In a meeting with Iran’s First Vice President Es’haq Jahangiri in Damascus on Tuesday, Assad said Iran and Syria should make more joint efforts to thwart the plots of those countries, which are aimed at weakening the two countries, hindering their independent decision-making and breaking the will of their peoples.

He added that Iran and Syria have always stood by each other during hard times and called for Iranian state and private sectors to play a more active role in the reconstruction plans of the war-stricken country.

Assad was referring to the key economic agreements signed between the two countries on Monday in the presence of Jahangiri and Syrian Prime Minister Imad Khamis.

Iran’s top security official says the country faces no scientific restrictions for increasing the range of its missiles, but that it currently has no plans to do so and is only focused on improving the accuracy of its missile technology.

Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani made the remarks in an address to a national summit on space technology at the Iran University of Science and Technology, in Tehran on Tuesday.

He said that Western and Israeli media have been leading a propaganda campaign against Iran by linking the country’s space program to its missile power.

“Iran has no scientific and operational restrictions for increasing the range of its military missiles, and it is only continuously working on boosting the precision [of the missiles] based on its defense doctrine, and has no intention to increase their range,” he added.

Iran and Syria have signed 11 agreements, including a “long-term strategic economic cooperation” deal, in a sign of changing winds in the Middle East which is shaping up to new realities.

Syrian Prime Minister Imad Khamis said Syria and Iran signed a "unique" and “historic” agreement which includes industry, trade and agriculture, calling it “a message to the world on the reality of Syrian-Iranian cooperation.”

Iran has played a crucial part in helping Syria overcome more than seven years of foreign-orchestrated war. However, the agreements signed during a visit to Damascus by Vice President Es’haq Jahangiri Monday signal Iran’s deeper involvement in post-war Syria, notably in the country’s reconstruction.

With reports that the European Union is close to establishing its trade vehicle for facilitating trade with Iran, the Trump Administration has issued a statement warning them not to defy the US sanctions, in any way.

“The choice is whether to do business with Iran or the United States," Sen. Tom Cotton (Republican-Arkansas), told the AP.

“I hope our European allies choose wisely.”

The US reimposed sanctions on Iran after withdrawing from the P5+1 nuclear deal. EU nations did not withdraw from the deal, and companies are still allowed to trade with Iran. This, however, is difficult because US sanctions are scaring most banks away.

The EU solution is a clearing house for the trades, which allow companies to pay for Iranian goods, and Iran to pay EU companies for services, without any money crossing borders, cutting the banks out of it.

The United States announced criminal charges against China’s Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, escalating a fight with the world’s biggest telecommunications equipment maker just days before trade talks take place between Washington and Beijing.

The Justice Department charged Huawei and its chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou on Monday with conspiring to violate US sanctions on Iran by doing business with Tehran through a subsidiary it tried to hide, which Reuters first reported on in 2012.

Huawei is the world’s largest manufacturer of cellular-tower electronics and the third-biggest smartphone producer.

In a separate case, the Justice department said Huawei stole robotic technology from carrier T-Mobile US Inc. Huawei has said that the two companies settled their disputes in 2017.

Webmaster's Commentary:

What concerns me deeply, is how quickly trade wars can escalate into shooting wars.

A shooting war against China would be a very terrible thing for the US government to do to be right now.

Iran is the trouble maker in the Middle East? Looks more like the US,Israel and Saudi and their fellow travelers.

Donald J. Trump
?
@realDonaldTrump
The Intelligence people seem to be extremely passive and naive when it comes to the dangers of Iran. They are wrong! When I became President Iran was making trouble all over the Middle East, and beyond. Since ending the terrible Iran Nuclear Deal, they are MUCH different, but....

A fake-news story about large-scale clashes between pro-Russian and pro-Iranian factions in Syria is making jitters in English- and Russian-language mainstream media outlets. According to these reports citing anonymous sources and each other, “the pro-Russian Tiger Forces and 5th Assault Corps” clashed with “the pro-Iranian 4th Division” near the villages of “Shahta, Bredidg, Innab and Haydariye” in northern Hama.

Most of the reports claimed that there were casualties among the sides providing “precise” numbers varying from a dozen to 200 fighters from the both sides. No source was able to provide details into how clashes had started but the versions are varying from “some differences” to “a campaign to limit Iranian influence”.

The indictment alleged Huawei’s long-running scheme to deceive the US and numerous global banks about its business in Iran

The United States has been investigating Huawei Technologies for possible violations of trade sanctions since at least 2007, when FBI agents questioned its founder in New York about the Chinese telecommunication equipment manufacturer’s business activities in Iran.

The founder, whose name was redacted in the indictment filed on Monday in the US, was identified in the documents as “Individual-1”. He said at the time that Huawei was compliant with US export laws and did not deal directly with any Iranian company, according to the 13-count indictment unsealed in federal court in Brooklyn, New York.

Shenzhen-based Huawei was founded in 1987 by Ren Zhengfei, who built a small vendor of telephone switches into the world’s largest telecoms equipment maker and second-biggest smartphone supplier that is forecast to earn US$125 billion in revenue this year.

The Trump administration is pushing to re-open a special investigation into the military dimensions of Iran’s past nuclear work. But it’s not gaining traction among the international officials who can make it happen.

Iranian First Vice-President Eshaq Jahangiri said that his country's serious fight against the terrorist groups blocked their attempts to prevail their rule over the region.

"The terrorist groups in the region were after introducing a violent face of Islam and they were created in certain regions like Syria and Iraq," Jahangiri said, addressing a ceremony in Tehran on Sunday.

"Had Iran not stepped onto the scene, today the ISIL terrorist group would have established its power and its rule in the region," he added.

Iran's First Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri, who is heading a high-ranking delegation to Syria, hailed the victories of the Arab country in fighting terrorists, and reassured that Tehran will keep supporting Damascus in the reconstruction phase after the war.

Jahangiri said that Iran is honored to be spearheading the anti-terror campaign in the region while felicitating the Syrian government and nation for their achievements in the fight against terrorism.
***
Iran's vice president expressed hope that terrorists would be completely eliminated in the Middle East and said, "The international community and the Europeans should know that if it were not for the sacrifices of the Syrian government and people as well as the country's allies, ISIL terrorists would establish a government in the region and would turn into a big and insolvable problem for global security."

In 2007, when making a speech during his bid for the presidency of the United States, the late Senator John McCain spoke about Iran’s supposed nuclear weapons’ programme and when questioned as to whether there might be US reaction to such allegations responded by singing “That old Beach Boys song, Bomb Iran... bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb.”

This jovial retort about killing people by bombing them was not surprising to those who remembered that during the US war on Vietnam McCain was shot down on a mission to bomb a power generation plant in Hanoi, the capital of North Vietnam, in the course of the entrancingly-named Operation Rolling Thunder. If he hadn’t been shot down before he released his bombs there would almost certainly have been civilian casualties and deaths. Power stations in cities are not manned by soldiers, after all, and around the Hanoi plant there were houses that would doubtless be struck by errant bombs.

As US officials continue to reiterate their intention to withdraw from Syria, but it seems that is coming with some caveats. Now, reports are that the end vision is to keep a few hundred US troops at the al-Tanf base, just to “challenge Iran.”

On the Iraq-Syria-Jordan border, al-Tanf was originally meant to prop up rebels on the Jordan border. Ultimately, it just became an excuse for the US to attack Shi’ite militias that got “too close” to the base, generally presented as pro-Iranian forces.

Making that the new face of US operations in Syria is liable to fuel more legal challenges. When troops were there to fight ISIS, the legal basis was nominally the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF). There is no AUMF for confronting Iran in a country where the government never authorized the US to be in the first place.

Official news sources in Iran publicly attacked the Russian government, blaming them for deliberately disrupting the S-300 air defense systems during the recent flare-up between their forces in Syria and Israel.

Meanwhile, Russia announced that the S-300 air defense systems in Syria are not ready for operation.

“With its totally unexpected action, Israel has officialised attacks against military targets in Syria, and has warned Syrian authorities not to exact vengeance on Israel” – this was how the Italian medias reported yesterday’s Israeli attack in Syria with cruise missiles and smart bombs. “This is a message to the Russians, who, together with Iran, are enabling the survival of Assad’s power structure”, commented the Corriere della Sera.

Nobody questions the “right” of Israel to attack a sovereign state in order to impose the government it ought to have, after eight years during which the USA, NATO and the Gulf monarchies tried to demolish it with Israël, as they did in 2011 with the State of Libya.

Iran’s chief military commander says the country may adopt offensive military tactics in order to protect its interests while continuing to adhere to its broad doctrine of defense.

Major General Mohammad Baqeri, the chairman of the Chiefs of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, said on Sunday that the Iranian military would adopt offensive tactics as and when they were deemed necessary.

“There is, among the country’s broad strategies, a defensive strategy — we defend the independence and territorial integrity and national interests of the country,” Maj. Gen. Baqeri said. “This, however, does not mean that we would be acting exclusively defensively and passively in our operational-level and tactical approaches.”

He said Iran did not have any intention of seizing foreign territory or harming foreign interests, yet, “to protect our national achievements and interests, we may adopt an offensive approach.”

An American newscaster for the Iranian government’s Press TV network, who was detained by the US government without being charged, has complained of mistreatment as she was held as a material witness in a criminal case.

“This is something that needs to be condemned across the table,” said Marzieh Hashemi, whose 10-day detention ended when she was released late on Wednesday. “It is not about me. It is about the US justice department and government – that they feel that they can just take people’s rights away, sweep them off of the streets, hold them in the name of being a material witness and not charging them … indefinitely.”

Hashemi’s detention and the limited details initially made available by authorities have prompted condemnation in the US and abroad, especially among press freedom and Muslim-advocacy groups including the Committee to Protect Journalists and the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

Israel Hayom has learned that alongside Jerusalem’s decision to postpone the transfer of Qatari funds to Hamas following the escalation on Israel’s border with the Gaza Strip, Egypt has issued the terrorist organization’s political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh (pictured) an ultimatum.

Cairo has made it clear that Haniyeh must decide whether “Hamas takes its orders from Tehran or continues to implement the understandings for calm” formulated by the head of Egyptian intelligence Abbas Kamel.

A senior Egyptian intelligence official told Israel Hayom that senior Hamas members, chief among them Haniyeh, had contacted Kamel with the request that Israel be sent the message that “Hamas was not involved in the grave events on the border.”

Iranian Army Deputy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari underlined that the Ground Force's Eqtedar 97 wargames staged in the weekend showed that the country is fully prepared to repel any aggression.
"Eqtedar 97 drills proved that the Army's Ground Force is capable of defending the country's borders. It was necessary in the wargames to display that we do not and will not sit idle for attacks," General Sayyari said in an interview with the state TV on Saturday night.

He stressed that the Iranian Ground Forces are capable of making the enemies regret their deeds whenever necessary, adding, "This is exactly the military doctrine which relies on deterrence power."

The Iranian Army’s Ground Force held the last stage of its massive military wargames in the Central province of Isfahan on Saturday.

The two-day drills, code-named Eqtedar 97, had kicked off upon an order by Commander of the Iranian Army Ground Force Brigadier General Kiomars Heidari on Friday morning.

The Trump Administration has been engaged in an anti-Iran diplomatic push abroad since withdrawing from the P5+1 nuclear deal, but seems to be hitting a major wall in that push at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), in charge of enforcing the deal.

In 2015, the P5+1 deal was reached, and the IAEA closed decades of investigations into Iran’s past nuclear activities. Since US officials are no longer honoring the deal, they want the IAEA to reopen those investigations.

The basis for this are claims from two US-based groups that were always opposed to any deal with Iran, arguing that they have evidence (from Israel) that Iran lied. The hope among US officials is that reopening the probes would further undermine the deal, and might even convince the EU to dishonor the pact as well.

Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh has told the media that the national oil company NIOC struck light sweet oil in a hitherto untapped oil region.

“This is the first time we’ve reached oil in the Abadan region,” Zanganeh said, adding that the grade was very light and sweet, but giving no details regarding the amount of reserves contained in the reservoir.

A senior Iranian lawmaker has strongly criticized Russia for deactivating its S-300 missile defence system deployed in Syria during the recent Israeli airstrikes on what Tel Aviv claims were Iranian positions in the Arab country.

Chairman of the Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Heshmatollah Falahatpishe says that had the systems operated properly, Israel could not easily carry out its airstrikes on Syria.